Chika Tachibana
Chika Tachibana (橘 千花, Tachibana Chika) ''is the arranged wife of Gen Tachibana and the mother of Marika Tachibana. Chika is the head of an old, lineage of her family and she is living in Kyushu. Appearance Chika's appearance is very similar to Marika Tachibana. Chika sports dark, short hair that reaches around her neck. Her eyes are bit narrow with her pupils showing no depth. She is rarely seen showing an expression other than her straight face. She wears a large traditional kimono, decorated with different colored and patterned fabrics, that cover most of body. Her looks make her seem very young for her age which causes Raku Ichijō to mistaken her as Marika's sister when they first meet. Personality Chika is a very cold, cruel and emotionless young woman who is shown to not care about about Marika Tachibana at all and only uses her to extend the family lineage. When Marika made a gift for her mother and gave it to her, Marika's mother ripped it the second Marika left. Chika's personality has caused Marika and Mikage Shinohara to hate her which is the reason why Marika calls her an immortal beast. After Marika returns home, Raku Ichijō tries persuading Chika to call off the wedding, in which she then asks several times why she should follow his request and why Marika's happiness or treatment is important. Before Raku is taken away by Honda, he asks what she thinks about Marika. She replies saying: "How disgusting. Do you want me to say I love her or something...?" Chika has no motherly affection for her daughter. She sees her as a tool to continue the family name and culture. Her indifference to her own progeny stems from her own mistreatment from her mother. She, like Marika, also attended school where she made friends but in the end had to give in to her own mother's demands and marry Gen not out of love but for his position as the police commissioner. However, deep down, she empathizes with her daughter. But, due to restraints of society and culture, she cannot let her fly whimsically. When Gen finally makes her realize why her cruel attitude is not really her own, she is freed from the social stigma and allows her daughter to do as she wishes. Background Chika was born into a family with an old, widely-known lineage. She is currently the head of this lineage and she is planning to have Marika Tachibana become the next head. She is very frail and weak and doesn't usually stay around people. Because of this, Marika and her mother did not speak to each other until Marika was about 7 years old. When Marika was a child, Chika was raised strictly but after meeting Raku Ichijō, Marika and Gen Tachibana (Marika's father) requested to have Marika attend the same school as Raku. She agreed but made a compromise with her. If Marika were to ever become so sick that she couldn't attend school or have Raku ultimately reject her offer of marriage, she would immediately be sent home to Kyushu. If these conditions were broken Marika must always obey her orders and be forced to marry the groom she chose. Relationships Gen Tachibana Chika and Gen have a rather one-sided marriage. While Gen has agreed that he loves her despite her cruel disposition to their own child, Chika fails to show any emotion towards him. However, it does seem Chika deeply respects her husband's opinion, so much so that she completely gives up on Marika's marriage and allows her to make her own decisions just by a single conversation with Gen. Trivia * The name '''Chika '''means "thousand" (千) ('chi') and "flower" (花) ('ka'). * Chika's surname '''Tachibana' means "orange, tangerine" (橘). * Chika is the only parent who doesn't love her child in the entire series. * Along with Claude Ringheart, Chika is perhaps the only "villains" in the story line. Category:Female characters Category:Characters Category:Parents